Pizzeria Beddia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

There used to be a bare-bones pizzeria in Philadelphia with two employees, zero seats and a 40-pizza-per-night limit. In 2015, Bon Appétit named its pizzas the best in the U.S., citing their “always-crispy-chewy crust.” Less than three years later, however, Pizzeria Beddia had to close: the hours-long lines made the two-man operation unsustainable. “I didn’t want to get to a point where I hated it,” says owner Joe Beddia, describing an atmosphere in which visitors would snap photos of him through the window while they waited in line. Now, Beddia is back with a full-service joint just a few blocks down the road from the original. It’s stocked with 120 seats, dozens more employees and a cloud-shaped light installation that encourages you to linger. “Everything’s changed,” Beddia says, “except the pizza.” —Abby Vesoulis